All is forgiven: Chew-happy dog saves owner in Spokane fire

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published
10:00 pm PST, Thursday, January 20, 2005

SPOKANE -- In the three years since Mark Anderson answered a newspaper ad for a free puppy that needed a good home, the female black Labrador has chewed through a couch, a window sill, two cell phones and two carpets.

"So she's cost me about a grand," Anderson said as he stroked Midnight, or Middy.

That seems paltry now that the dog has saved him from a fire.

"He would have been dead if it hadn't been for his dog, absolutely," city fire Capt. Mike Zambryski said.

Anderson, 39, said he fell asleep on his couch Tuesday night watching television and Middy's barking awakened him about 8 a.m. Wednesday. "I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see 2 feet in front of me. I realized I was in the middle of a fire," he said. "I was going to sleep right through it."

Anderson found a window and jumped out, followed by Middy. Most of the house was destroyed. The fire was blamed on a baseboard heater that ignited curtains.

"I'm so lucky to be alive. It's just starting to hit me," he said. "Thank God I didn't put her out this morning."